Meet Vijay Sankeshwar, politician with 5000 vehicles who built Rs 6142 crore firm

Vijay Sankeshwar is the owner of the largest logistics company in India, VRL Logistics. He is the owner of 5000 vehicles as of now. However, when he started his business in the 1970s, he didn't even have the money to buy one truck. Here's his story.

Sankeshwar is now known as the trucking king of India. He had to borrow money to buy his first truck.

The year was 1976. His business started with just one truck. He had reportedly borrowed Rs 2 lakh for this. Now he has over 5000 commercial vehicles.

His family has a publishing business. He had to face a lot of flak for not joining the family business and do something of his own. He, despite opposition, opened the business. He kept growing the business day by day. Currently, he is one of the richest people in India.

He faced several challenges during the course of this journey. However, he never lost hope. In the 1990s, his business started showing growth. He also came into passenger service. He opened a company called Vijayanand Travels. This was renamed VRL Logistics. Today, this company even offers jet services.

Over the last five years, the company has returned 115 percent on the stock markets. On Wednesday, the company's shares were Rs 702.30. The company's market cap is Rs 6142 crore.

He is originally from Karnakata's Dharwad. He is the chairman of India's biggest firm VRL Group. He is a BJP member. He was an MP from North Dharwad.

He also owned a newspaper which was acquired by TOI. In 2020, he was awarded Padma Shri.

He is a commerce graduate.